Whitney Houston Hologram To Make World
Tour In 2016

Concert-goers and industry professionals
are divided on the concept of holographic resurrection.

It used to be that when a celebrated and beloved music artist died,
so did the hope of ever seeing them perform live again.

But not
anymore.

With the advent of hologram technology, deceased artists
have a second chance to take the world by storm. And the music industry
might never be the same.

Holograms have been at the forefront of
the world’s attention in recent years. We saw it with deceased rapper
Tupac at the Coachella Music Festival in 2012. We saw it again with the
late Michael Jackson at the 2014 Billboard awards. We even saw it on a
2007 episode of American Idol when a virtual projection of Elvis sang a
duet alongside Celine Dion.

Who’s next to be digitally
resurrected? Reports say singing sensation Whitney Houston, who died in
2012 from what the coroner established as “drowning due to
atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use," will make a comeback as
a hologram in 2016.

How the hologram works. Graphic by Madeline White.

The international pop icon’s estate and sister-in-law, Pat Houston,
are partnering with Los Angeles-based tech company Hologram USA to
perform “in a major U.S. venue for a show that can be accessed on TVs
and computers around the world via FilmOn.com,” a Sept. 11 Billboard
article reported. After the show’s U.S. debut, the company plans to send
Houston’s hologram show on a world tour.

"It's a great opportunity for her fans to see a reinvention of one
the most celebrated female artists in history and to continue a legacy
of performances that will not be forgotten in years to come,” Pat
Houston said in a press
release.

"It was kind of creepy...”

–-Madison Moorhead, Coachella 2012 Attendee

Although digital resurrection technology has garnered a lot of
attention recently—Tupac’s Coachella cameo has nearly 40 million views
on YouTube—the concept is stirring a range of reactions across the
spectrum.

Unfortunately, the way that the music industry is
today—most of the money that is made is through touring so I understand
the financial aspect behind it,” said Maxwell Alpar, Partnership
Development Assistant at Universal Music Group. “But I really
truly hope that people want to see real people and real artists and real
performances [rather] than a fake projection of what they could just
listen to on Spotify.”

Your browser does not support the video tag. A slew of recent holographic acts prompt controversy among music and technology professionals and fans.

Ashley Crowder, CEO of LA-based hologram company VNTANA, said
that hologram concerts are able to keep audiences engaged and
entertained. “It’s all about the environment and making it feel live and
exciting. It’s not just a hologram DJ doing his same set. We can light
the DJ booth on fire and add all kinds of amazing special effects, so
it’s really about the entire visual show you’re experiencing,” she said.
“People are really looking for that theatrical element.”

Either
way, the fact remains that the illusion technique has proven to be
financially beneficial for both the record and touring industries.
According to Medium.com, in the weeks following Tupac’s holographic
performance in Snoop Dogg's set at Coachella, his album sales skyrocketed 500 percent and
his greatest hits album made it onto the Billboard 200 chart.

In
addition, when Michael Jackson returned to the stage in hologram form
during the 2014 Billboards Awards, the telecast achieved a 13-year
viewership high of 10.5 million people, according to Billboard.

Still, even though the
numbers speak in favor of the technology, many music fans remain
hesitant about the jaw-dropping technology.

LA resident Madison Moorhead, who saw Tupac’s hologram first-hand, said
“there was a lot of hype surrounding it, and I get that, and it was an
interesting thing to see, but at the same time, it’s like, Tupac’s
dead—let’s be honest.” She added: “It was kind of creepy because it
wasn’t authentic.” Caption information for the embedded photo can go here.

While the ticket prices have yet to be
announced regarding Houston’s world tour, the concert is expected to be
a success. Osvaldo Trujillo, professor of rapid visualization technology
at USC’s Iovine and Young Academy, said “this Whitney Houston thing
is just the beginning.”

Trujillo predicts that this technology
will not only be useful to resurrect dead artists, but also for
currently-living artists who may want their customized holograms to tour
the globe for them. “What’s great about a hologram is: it doesn’t mess
up, it doesn’t get sick, every performance is the same, you can control
everything, and you can do an amazing performance every time, you know?”
Trujillo said, “A hologram doesn’t get tired. Yeah, so it’s great for that.
I can see that being very tempting for artists right now to start using
that technology.”